


Red Dahlia

by Clytemnestrasrevenge



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Fluff, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Jaehwan is a soft baby, M/M, Magic, Twist on the Persephone myth, Wonshik is misunderstood, slowly falling in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2020-10-28 22:42:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20786246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clytemnestrasrevenge/pseuds/Clytemnestrasrevenge
Summary: ‘In which we examine the misunderstood love between Hades and Persephone’





	1. Caveat Emptor

“Brother, I told you to look but not touch! How many times do I have to say it?!” 

Hakyeon's thunderous proclamations were accompanied by a symphony of thunder, sprigs of lighting curling around his golden laurel. 

Wonshik raised his hands, palm up. A small, wicked smile gracing his face. “In my defense, brother, he came up to me.”


	2. Seed

=❃=❃=❃=

=❃=❃=❃=

Wonshik, lord of the underworld and king of the damned, was taking a day trip. 

He didn’t take day trips the surface very often, there wasn’t really any reason for him to do so. His domain was the darkness. The Beneath. But still. Watching Helios drive his chariot of the sun across the wide blue sky, feeling the light on his face, it was a nice change of pace. 

The shadows woven into his cloak began to ripple and Wonshik opened his eyes. He didn’t move to sit up, though, didn’t lift his head from where it was pillowed on his arm. Someone was approaching and they were trying to be sneaky.

“Show yourself,” he called lazily, blinking up at the leafy canopy of willow branches above. 

There was the sound of soft footsteps, compressing of blades of grass beneath bare feet. “Hello!”

A chipper voice, a cheerful lilt. The sound of a person who had never truly seen the dark. “What do you want, mortal?”

“I am no mortal!” the voice squeaked, taking an audible step closer. _ That _ piqued Wonshiks curiosity. Most of the immortals knew better than to approach him so casually. “Who are you then?”

“Jaehwan, son of Demeter and the thunder god himself!”

Ah... one of his brother’s innumerable children. “And what are you doing out here all alone, Jaehwan?” Wonshik asked, blinking up into the face that was suddenly staring at him upside down. It was a cute face, Wonshik supposed, quite a bit of nose and fluffy brown hair. The boy was smiling so wide that Wonshik couldn’t even see what color his eyes were. Too much cheek in the way. 

“Oh you know,” he said, drawing out the _ ‘ow’, _ “Skipping through fields of wheat and such like. But then I saw you and came to investigate.”

“And do you know who I am?” Wonshik asked, faintly amused. The boy shrugged, plopping down on the grass and crossing his legs. “No, but mother never lets me see anyone or have any friends, so I’m lucky to have found you!”

The lord of the underworld smiled. “Well, little immortal, my name is Hades. But you can call me Wonshik.” 

He watched the boy visibly pale, his smile falling faster than a stone dropped in a pond. Jaehwan had brown eyes, big shiny brown eyes. Wonshik supposed _ they _ were cute as well. “But- but what are you doing up here?! And why don’t you look terrifying?! My mother says you’re the most frightening person she’s ever seen!”

“Your mother must be a liar then,” Wonshik replied, grinning as the expression on Jaehwans face switched from scared to affronted. But his mother _ was _ a liar, and overdramatic to boot. 

“She is not!”

“You can see me with your own two eyes, little immortal. Am I the most frightening person you’ve ever seen?”

Jaehwan hesitated, clearly conflicted, lower lip jutting out in a pout. It was a cute pout. _ Very _ cute. “No...” he replied, tilting his head a bit like Cerberus when the dog was confused. Wonshik took pity on him, spreading his cloak of shadows out like a blanket. “Come, little immortal, recline with me.”

The boy hesitated again, only moving to lie at Wonshiks side when the king of the damned patted the ground. Jaehwan crossed his arms behind his head, hair flopping into his eyes. “So, you’re lonely, little immortal? Is that why you approach strangers with no regard for your safety?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Wonshik saw Jaehwan frown. “Yes, but I have regard for my safety! If you’d looked like how I thought you look, I would have run away screaming.”

“And how did you think I looked?”

“You know,” the boy replied, waving a hand straight out in front of him, “Horns, glowing red eyes, fangs...”

Wonshik chuckled softly. “I’m sorry to disappoint you then, little immortal.”

“I’m _ not _ little,” Jaehwan snapped, propping himself on one elbow and shooting Wonshik the most non-threatening glare the king of the damned had ever seen. He turned as well, chin balanced on his palm. “You’re little to me. All but my brothers are little to me.”

The boy seemed to need a moment to think that through, brow furrowed, but he nodded eventually. “Anyway, I _ am _ a bit lonely, yes. Mother doesn’t really let me out of our home, barely lets me take walks in the fields by myself.”

“I wonder why,” Wonshik mused, not actually wondering in the slightest. Demeter was a greedy old sow, possessive and distrustful. She would, no doubt, want to keep her pretty son under lock and key at all times. “Does she let you speak to _ anyone _ at all?”

Jaehwan frowned again. Wonshik was growing to like that frown. “No, but Hongbin comes to see me sometimes. He isn’t _ really _ my friend though, father only sends his winged messenger to spy on me.”

“Ah, well. My brother guards his offspring as jealously as your mother. Unlucky parentage, I’m afraid,” Wonshik said, injecting his tone with a note of sympathy. 

Jaehwan looked at him, contemplative. “Are _ you _ lonely? It must be lonely being underground all the time.”

“A bit, Cerberus and the souls of the damned make for... _ interesting _ company. And it’s a bit chilly without the sun to warm me.”

With a small squeak, Jaehwan abruptly sat up. “I can’t be here! Helios will see us and tell mother! I’ll get in trouble!” he exclaimed, turning his face up to the chariot high in the sky. 

Wonshik waved his hand in a smooth arch, drawing the shadows above their heads like a blanket. The boy gasped as they were shaded by pure darkness. He didn’t appear frightened, clapping his hands and looking around with delight. “Helios cannot see us now, no need to fret.”

“Magical,” Jaehwan sighed, reluctantly turning his face back down to peer at the god of death. “You can perform such wonders?”

“Yes, little immortal.”

“Is that why you were given dominion over the underworld? Because you are able to call the darkness?”

Wonshik laughed, soft. “No. I could have easily been lord of lighting, your father the king of the sea, and poseidon the lord of death. We drew straws. Mine was the shortest.”

The corners of Jaehwan’s mouth turned down it what... could it possibly be anger? “That’s not fair!” he squeaked, arms crossed over his narrow chest. “On the contrary, little immortal, it is the fairest. I’m just not very lucky.”

“But if it was simply luck that set you on your path, why are you painted as a monster?”

“Because the dark is very frightening. The things that dwell within it must be frightening as well.”

Jaehwan was thinking again so Wonshik waited, watching his lip push out further and further. He was a very colorful boy, Wonshik thought. A coat of wool, reaching down around his knees and woven every color of the rainbow. Shirt and pants of creme linen beneath but bands of blue, red, and green wrapped around his wrists. They had small crocheted flowers for decoration that matched the scarf around his neck. So much clothing and yet no shoes. What an odd sense of style this boy had. 

“The dark does not frighten me,” Jaehwan said, brown eyes refocusing and fixing on Wonshik’s face. 

“Does it not?”

“No,” the boy replied firmly, reaching up to swirl the shadow around his fingers. It undulated like magma, weaving and dipping and slipping in every direction, coaxing a tinkling laugh from Jaehwans mouth. Wonshik smiled. He formed a pattern in the air, drawing a single moonflower of deepest black and presenting it to the little immortal. “Eek! It’s lovely!”

Jaehwan tucked the bloom behind his ear, beaming at Wonshik where he was still reclining on his cloak. “A lovely flower for a lovely boy.”

With an entirely unnecessary flourish, Jaehwan pulled a powder pink rose from thin air. “You could do with some color,” he replied happily, nestling it between the folds of Wonshik’s tunic. 

“Jaehwan? Jaehwan!” 

The boy whipped his head around at the sound of the distant voice. “That’s my mother, I must go,” he whispered, slipping the moonflower into his pocket. “Will you- will you return tomorrow?”

After a moment, Wonshik nodded. Jaehwan hopped to his feet and, with a last little wave in the king of the underworld’s direction, skittered away from the grove of willows and out into the field. 

=❃=❃=❃=

“What are these? You always wear them and I know not why.”

Wonshik tilted his head back, looking up at Jaehwan for barely a moment before the boy nudged his head forward to its upright position. The king of the underworld was propped up on his elbows as the boy braided strands of his silver hair into snakes that stuck up off his head in every direction. 

He came as often as he could, which was quite often indeed, to see his friend. Every day in fact. Jaehwan was lonely and so sweet, he didn’t like the thought of the boy trapped with no companion but his awful mother. So he spared at least half an hour each day to pay the cute boy a visit. 

“They’re called handwarmers, silly,” Jaehwan replied, holding one hand in front of Wonshiks face and wiggling his fingers. Today’s pair were knit in a pattern of swirling blues and greens, matching his quilted purple coat. 

“Are your hands cold, little immortal?”

“A bit, but mostly it’s for fashion.”

Wonshik tilted his head back again, giving the boy an incredulous look. “You think _ those _are fashionable?”

Jaehwan poked him on the nose, none too gently. “I _ like _them! Don’t make fun of them!” he exclaimed, that pout back on his adorable face. Wonshik couldn’t help but laugh.

“If you wear those to Olympus, everyone is going to whisper behind your back.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve only been there once then,” Jaehwan harrumphed, yanking rather sharply at Wonshiks hair. “So that is why I’d never seen you before,” the king of the underworld replied. It didn’t really come as a surprise, Jaehwan’s shrew of a mother wouldn’t have let him anywhere near the other immortals when his... _ flower _ could have been so easily _ plucked. _

“I prefer it here anyway, Olympus is too loud.”

Wonshik nodded thoughtfully. Jaehwan belonged here, surrounded by the beauty and serenity of his plants. The blue skies and soft earth. It suited him. “Olympus is not for everyone, especially if you don’t enjoy- engaging in frivolities."

Another tug on his hair. “You mean like drinking nectar and having lots of sex?”

Wonshik choked on air. “Yes, things of that nature,” he replied, clearing his throat and staring out at the field of golden grain stretching as far as the eye could see. 

“Do you enjoy those sorts of things?”

The boys voice had a forced ease that Wonshik didn’t fail to pick up on. He tried to word his answer as tactfully as possible. “There's not much else to do in the underworld, little immortal.”

Jaehwans hands stilled for a brief moment. “Do you have a lover then?”

“No,” Wonshik said slowly, unsure of the direction this conversation was going. 

“Then who do you have sex with?”

“Depends on the day.”

The boy stopped again, but this time he didn’t resume braiding. “That’s not very romantic.”

Wonshik heaved a sigh. “It’s not supposed to be, little immortal.”

A very heavy pause. 

“I think it should be.”

“You’ve never taken anyone to your bed?” The lord of darkness didn’t even know why he asked. The answer was more than apparent. “No.”

Another pause. Jaehwan broke the silence.

“And you enjoy getting drunk on nectar?”

“Everybody does. Its nectar.”

Jaehwan made a little huffy sound and began untangling the nest of knots that was now Wonshiks hair. “Well I’ve never had any so I wouldn’t know.”

“Demeter really doesn’t let you have _ any _ sort of fun at all, does she?” 

“Yes she does!” the boy squeaked, smacking Wonshiks shoulder. 

“Oh really?”

“Yes.” 

“Like what?”

Jaehwan hesitated, as though he thought Wonshik might laugh at him. “Weaving and knitting, those are both fun! And I like to paint! She lets me paint!”

The king of the underworld _ did _laugh. “You really are an innocent little thing,” he murmured, sitting up and shaking out the few remaining braids. 

“Color me offended,” the boy snapped, adjusting the folds of his sweatery coat. Wonshik cooed. “I meant no offense,” he said, cupping the boys cheek, stroking the corner of Jaehwans mouth with his thumb. 

Jaehwan blinked at him, those doe eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “I want to try it.”

“Try what?” Wonshik asked, still smiling at Jaehwans frown. 

“Nectar.”

The god of death arched a brow. “I do not think your mother would approve of that, little immortal.”

The boys pout was getting stronger by the second. “So what?”

_ “So _ you cannot just drink it in the middle of the day and expect her not to notice.”

Wonshik could literally see the wheels turning in Jaehwans head, and it was so endearing. So _ cute. _“I’ll sneak out! Once Selene is high in the sky! Mother sleeps early, she’ll never know.”

“I’m not sure if that’s such a-“

Unfortunately for the king of the damned, Jaehwan broke out the puppy dog eyes. It was harder to resist than all three of Cerberus's heads put together. Maybe having some fun would do the boy good. A little nectar couldn’t hurt, especially not if imbibed under Wonshiks careful supervision. Despite all of this- this innocence, Jaehwan was hundreds of years old. He had just stopped aging around nineteen. And he never experienced the outside world. Experimenting a little wasn’t a bad thing. 

“As you wish, little immortal. Tomorrow night. Meet me here when Selene’s chariot reaches its highest point, hm?”

The boy squeaked with delight, flowers blooming around his feet. He leapt forwards, throwing his arms around Wonshiks neck and damn near knocking the god of death flat on his back. Giggling like a maniac as Wonshik struggled to breathe.

=❃=❃=❃=

The king of the underworld was leaning up against the trunk of their willow tree, watching Jaehwan in the distance. The boy moved soundlessly, cutting through the stalks of grain in a much less colorful coat than normal. He was trying so hard to be stealthy. Wonshik grinned. 

“Hello,” Jaehwan whisper-shouted, skittering up to the god of death with an enormous smile on his face. All cheeks, as usual. 

“Greetings, little immortal.”

Jaehwan peered at him through the gloom. “Did you bring it?”

“Yes,” Wonshik replied, sliding down the tree trunk until he sat atop his cloak. The boy looked around, confused until the god of death snapped his fingers. Two crystal goblets and a clear bottle of nectar appeared on the ground beside him. Jaehwan clapped. 

He dropped down atop the cloak, crossing his legs and watching with interest as Wonshik poured a very _ small _measure of nectar into each glass. “You may only have a little.”

“Why?” Jaehwan pouted, folding up his arms like a petulant child. “Because it’s your first time, and you look like a lightweight.”

The boy squinted at him, but accepted the proffered glass without additional protests. Wonshik watched Jaehwan swallow a mouthful of the golden liquid. He saw the gold flair in Jaehwans pretty brown eyes at it slipped down his throat. 

_ “Oh,” _he sighed, the sparkle in his iris’s simmering away. Wonshik knocked back the contents of his own glass. Just a pleasant warmth bubbling in his stomach. “How do you feel?”

Jaehwan smiled. Not his squishy-cheek beam, softer. Just a gentle curve of his pretty mouth. “Cozy.”

Nearly an hour later, the boy was sprawled across the cloak with his heavy head pillowed on Wonshiks thigh. Doe eyes droopy and giggling between every other sentence. 

“Tell me one of your stories,” he whispered, jabbing Wonshiks knee. The king of the underworld still had his back to the tree, eyes closed and breathing slow. He grinned. Or- he grinned _ wider. _ He’d never actually _ stopped _ grinning. 

“What would you like to hear?”

“Mm... Medusa.”

Wonshik chuckled. “She was a nuisance when she arrived in my throne room for judgment, I can tell you that. After that idiot Perseus cut off her head... well, the woman wasn’t _ sane _ to begin with, but she kept trying to turn me to stone! I mean her snakes weren't working, and ones power leaves them when they die, so she just kept shrieking at me but nothing happened. And then, Perseus wouldn’t stop using her head on people he didn’t like and I was stuck dealing with all these frozen mortals...” He huffed out a breath of laughter. “It was an ordeal.”

Jaehwan giggled. “I’ve always wanted snakes for hair. That would be so cool, having lots of little friends around all the time.”

“No, you do not! They’d probably just bite you non stop anyway.”

“Why would they bite me? Friends wouldn’t bite me,” the boy mumbled, pushing himself upright with trembling arms and peering at the god of death. Wonshik pinched the tip of his adorable nose. “Because you look so tasty,” he replied, chuckling again as Jaehwan smiled that squishy-cheek smile. 

“I look tasty?”

“Delicious.”

“Would you bite me if you were a snake?”

The boy tried to poke Wonshik, the king of the underworld catching his finger between his teeth and play-growling like a puppy. Jaehwan let out a shriek of laughter and Wonshik released him with a smile. “Just as tasty as I thought.”

“Fine, no snakes then,” Jaehwan mumbled, slumping forwards so his chin was resting on the god of death’s sternum. Wonshik laughed, petting the boy’s fluffy hair. “Are you enjoying your first taste of nectar, little immortal?” 

Jaehwan nodded. His big eyes were so pretty, Wonshik thought, and his hair was so soft. Even those ridiculous hand warmers looked nice on him. They made him look even cuter. Especially when he was smiling like he was now, all cheeks and teeth and _ so _much nose. “Yes, very much,” he giggled. 

Wonshik grinned down at him, feeling the boys hands press against his chest. The ground was slightly damp beneath them, dew gathering on the blades of grass in the chill of midnight. It was a good thing he’d spread his cloak out like a blanket before they sat otherwise Jaehwan’s clothes would have grass stains all over-

The god of death’s train of thought was very abruptly dragged to a screeching halt. Jaehwan was- the boys hands were on his cheeks, his mouth was on Wonshiks. He was _ kissing _ Wonshik. This sweet boy was kissing the king of the underworld like it was the most natural thing in the universe. Wonshik stopped breathing. 

This wasn’t right. Jaehwan wasn’t entirely present, he would not have done such a thing if it weren’t for the nectar and no matter how fast Wonshiks heart was thundering or how blissfully Wonshiks mouth was tingling as Jaehwans lips moved against his, it needed to stop. 

“Jaehwan,” he breathed, turning his face away and trying to get his rapidly heating body under control. The boy blinked blearily up at him, plush bottom lip caught between his teeth. “Jaehwan, this is...”

The boy was kissing him _ again, _ his handwarmers tickling as he slid his fingers through the Wonshik’s hair. Oh gods, was this Jaehwans first kiss? It would have to be, he never saw anyone else! This couldn’t go on. Jaehwan wanted romance, he deserved romance, not just a hasty tumble in the garden with the god of fucking _ death. _

“Jaehwan, stop this,” he whispered, hands finding the boy’s waist and gently pushing him away. Jaehwan looked at him, big brown eyes shiny with hurt. Shiny with _ tears?! _

“No, no no Jaehwan please don’t cry,” he breathed, smoothing the boy’s hair back off his forehead, petting his cheek. 

“I thought you liked me.”

Wonshik let our a sharp breath, squeezing his eyes shut. “That’s not even remotely the point. You aren’t in your right mind and I refuse to take advantage of that.”

“But-“

The shadows at the hem of Wonshiks cloak rippled, a streak of movement in the distance catching the god of deaths attention. He squinted... golden wings on the heels of the man’s sandals, more golden wings on the circlet ringing his head. Plain white tunic. Messenger bag on a leather strap across his chest. Hongbin. 

“Come here,” Wonshik breathed, yanking the boy against his chest and drawing the darkness around them. Shielding them from view. Jaehwans fingers knotted in the front of Wonshiks shirt, but the king of the damned tried not to pay attention to that. He kept his gaze fixed on his brothers winged messenger. 

Hongbin wouldn’t be able to see them, it would just look like the willows shadow cast by Selene’s moon chariot. They wouldn’t be discovered sneaking around like a couple of mortal teenagers. If Jaehwan would stop talking, that is. 

“Shh,” he murmured, winding an arm around the boy’s middle and hugging him tight. Jaehwan hid his face in the juncture of Wonshiks neck and shoulder, tucking himself snuggly between the god of deaths arms. He was still whispering things Wonshik could barely hear, lips forming the words against Wonshiks skin, but if _ Wonshik _ couldn’t make them out then it was a safe bet _ Hongbin _ couldn’t either. 

The messenger turned in a slow circle, his sharp gaze sliding right over the spot the two immortals were concealed. Good. In an absolutely soundless burst of motion, Hongbin lept straight up in the air and flew out of sight. 

“I wonder what he wanted,” Wonshik whispered, not realizing he’d been stroking the boy’s hair until he stopped. Jaehwan has gone still and quiet. Little puffs of his breath were warm against Wonshiks neck, his grip on Wonshiks shirt had gone slack. The god of death looked down and found that Jaehwan had fallen asleep. 

“Cute.” 

Wonshik gently scooped the boy up in his arms, keeping his cloak of darkness wrapped around them as he walked toward Demeter’s home. Jaehwan didn’t wake, snuggling closer to the king of the underworld and snuffling softly.

He’d seen which window Jaehwan climbed out from earlier and let the shadows wrap around his feet, lifting him easily to the second story and stepping inside, keeping his movements as quiet as possible and trying not to stare around at the boy’s colorful bedroom. There were paintings covering every inch of wall space, some landscapes, some portraits of Demeter, and one small painting of Jaehwan himself. Vases of flowers were set on every surface, the black bloom Wonshik had given him on the table beside the bed-

_ Stop gawking, _Wonshik chided himself, gently laying the boy down atop his downy comforter. He eased Jaehwans arms out of the sleeves of his coat, sliding it off and folding it on the foot of the bed. He removed the handwarmers as well, leaving them atop the coat, and pulled a knit blanket of green and gold up around the boy’s shoulders. 

“Sleep well, little immortal,” Wonshik whispered, pressing his lips to the sleeping boy’s forehead in a kiss that was entirely self indulgent. Assured of Jaehwans comfort, Wonshik slipped back out the window and out into the fields. 

With a wave of his hand, the king of the underworld opened the entrance to his staircase and began to descend back into his shadowy domain, the ghost of Jaehwans lips still tingling against his own. 


	3. Sprout

=❃=❃=❃=

=❃=❃=❃=

Wonshik strolled purposefully through the halls of his palace, shades ducking out of the way as he went passed. They were the lucky ones, allowed to serve out their eternities in Wonshik’s service rather than wallow away the years in the Meadows of Asphodel. Not as lucky as the residents of Elysium, but still lucky. 

There was a war on in the mortal realm, something to do with the Trojans, and it was causing a _ steep _ influx of souls for Wonshik to judge. This increase in his workload had prevented the king of the damned from visiting his sweet friend for several weeks. Wonshik hadn’t seen Jaehwan since the evening they were almost caught by Hongbin. Since Jaehwan had kissed him. And Wonshik missed the boy terribly. It was hard going back to a life full of darkness after being in the company of a ray of pure sunshine. 

His boots made no sound on the marble floors as he hastened toward the back entrance of the palace. Nothing ever really made _ sound _down here so much as it faintly echoed. He missed listening to bird’s chirp, leaves rustle, Jaehwan’s saccharine voice. 

The king of the underworld made quick work of the stairs up to the surface, slipping out of The Beneath and straight into the shade of their willow tree. Jaehwan wasn’t there. That wasn’t altogether abnormal, Demeter didn’t let him out at the same time every day, so their meetings weren’t scheduled. 

He swept off his cloak of shadows and spread it over the grass, settling down against the willow’s trunk to wait. Wonshik had just gotten comfortable, eyes sliding shut with drowsiness, when the back of his hand brushed something soft. 

Squinting around in the brightness of mid-day, Wonshik saw what appeared at first glance to be a lump of sodden black wool with a ribbon tied around it. It was rather grimy and the ribbon itself was falling to pieces, odd. He swept a hand over it, banishing the dirt and damp, and picked the thing up. It turned out to be _ two _ lumps of wool. Not black, but interwoven strands of dark violet, midnight blue, and deepest emerald, the colors shifting depending on the angle one looked at them. Handwarmers. 

Wonshik looked down at the pair of handwarmers in mild confusion, as he recognized the things for what they were. Jaehwan wore them every day, it would have been hard not to. But they weren’t in Jaehwan’s prefered vibrant colors. Odder still. He untied the ruined ribbon and a small square of parchment fell out.

_ ‘I hoped maybe if I left you an offering, you’d return. It seems to work for the mortals. I hope you like them, I thought they would be nice to keep you warm when you’re in the underworld. Please come back. – Jaehwan’ _

The king of the damned pressed his lips tight together. Jaehwan had left him an _ offering. _

Wonshik tucked the beautiful gift into the folds of his cloak and he reached _ out. _ Sent his awareness rolling across the ground, feeling the presence of every patch of shadow. It took a moment, but Wonshik could sense Demeter working at her loom inside the house. And then, just outside, sitting on the floor and playing cats cradle, Jaehwan. 

He sent the shadows pooled at Jaehwans feet winding up his legs like vines. Tugging gently on the hem of his coat. Weaving in between his slim fingers. 

Wonshik felt the boy leap to his feet and tear off into the fields at a sprint. He released his grip on the shadows and settled more comfortably against the willow. Waiting.

“You!” Jaehwan shrieked, hurtling out from between the tall stalks of grain and tackling the king of the damned. Wonshik was knocked sideways, tumbling away from the willow as the boy latched on tight. “Where have you been?!”

Wonshiks smile felt like it would crack his face in half. The two immortals stopped rolling through the tall grass, Jaehwan sitting atop the lord of the underworld as if Wonshik were not more than a horse. He crossed his arms over his narrow chest, big eyes as dark as his scowl. 

“I have duties below, little immortal. My apologies-“

“That’s not good enough!” the boy squeaked, smacking Wonshiks shoulder. “Do you know how awful it was, going back to having no friends?!”

“Yes, I missed you as well,” Wonshik replied, reaching up to pet the boy’s soft hair. Jaehwan slapped him away, the lord of darkness arched a brow in surprise. 

“What did I do wrong?”

Jaehwans voice had taken on a wounded note, searching Wonshiks face. Lip pushed out in that pout. “Was it because we- because I kissed you? Did I kiss badly? It won’t happen again, I promise I’m sorry-“

“No, no sweet boy, no,” Wonshik said softly, catching Jaehwans hand in his own and lacing their fingers together. “An influx of souls, that is all. No fault of yours.”

He looked up, watching relief dance across the boy’s face like dappled sunlight. Stalks shot up from the earth around them, blooms of every hue and color as Jaehwan leaned down. Their noses bumped a little. Jaehwan’s mouth capturing Wonshiks for what was the second- no, third time, and the sweetness of it _ rang _ in the king of the damned’s ears. And even though there was no nectar in the boys bloodstream, it could not go on. 

“Jaehwan, that’s enough,” he managed, hands on the boys' shoulders. He looked Jaehwan in the eye, then, watching hurt take the place of joy, the freshly bloomed flowers beginning to wilt. “This cannot be. We can be friends, laugh and talk together but- but I am not the person you’re looking for the arena of affection. You... you deserve better than me.”

“But... but, I,” Jaehwan spoke, voice not but a whisper as he peered down at Wonshik. Thinking again. “But you _ are _ the person I am looking for. Who else could I want?”

The shadows swam across the ground at Wonshiks back. “That’s the point, isn’t it little immortal? You haven’t _ met _ anyone else.”

“No...” Jaehwan replied, shaking his head. Slow. Thoughtful. Somewhere deep in Wonshiks chest, his black heart stilled. “No, I don’t believe that matters.”

“And why not?”

“Because.” The boy smiled then, that squishy-cheeked beam the king of the damned adored so much. “I would seek you out even in the crowds of Olympus. Other people matter not when I know in my heart that I want you.”

Wonshik blinked, feeling the boy’s words like a punch to the gut. He reached up, tentatively, hesitantly, breaching the minimal space between them. Letting the tips of his fingers stumble across the plane of Jaehwans cheek. “You are... a remarkable boy,” he murmured, drinking in the sound of Jaehwans giggle like nectar. “But we _ cannot _ be.”

The little immortals face fell. Wonshik saw the agony in his soft brown eyes, the unfairness of it. Jaehwan didn’t understand. “You- Jaehwan you shine like the sun, but darkness spreads from everything I touch. I cannot let my curse infect one such as you. Watching the light bleed from you as my shadows replace it. I cannot.”

Jaehwan shot to his feet, backing away until his hand connected with the trunk of their willow. “That is not for you to decide!”

“It is.”

“Why?! What gives you the right to dictate such things?”

The king of the damned sat up, palms in the damp grass. “It would break my heart,” he said, voice gentle. Jaehwans eyes went wide. “You know _nothing_ of heartbreak,” he spluttered, voice cresting high, inching away from the shadows writhing at his bare feet. “You know nothing of waking up in bed alone, wondering if everything had been a dream! If you had ever _ actually _ met your friend and if all the happy times you spent together were nothing more than a figment of your imagination!”

The willow branches hanging over their heads began to droop, leaves going brown and shriveling up. He sniffled. “I know you are very old and have probably lost track of time, but I have not! I counted each day you were gone, each moment, each second! I came here every day for the first year, hoping you’d return, but after three hundred and sixty five days of nothing, I stopped. And now you come, a full _ year _ after I gave up all hope, only to tell me we cannot be?”

Wonshik started. Two years? He’d been gone for two years? Sure, time had begun to run together for him but two _ years? _ He had thought it was merely two weeks! He thought he’d only known the boy a month at most. Focusing, the king of the damned sent his mind back. Trying to count.

The time Jaehwan had brought fresh bread and honey for them to eat. The time Wonshik had brought one of Cerberus’s puppies up to the surface and watched Jaehwan roll around with it in the grass. The time Jaehwan had painted Wonshiks hands with berry juice, and then the time the boy had gasped upon hearing the tale of the monster Schylla. Memories flew past his mind’s eye, unable to count them all. Five years worth of them. 

Leaves began to fall around them, Wonshik getting slowly to his feet. “I’m so lonely,” the boy sobbed, willow branches snapping, the trunk creaking ominously behind him. “I know sweet boy, I can see that, but please calm down. You’re killing our willow, a god of fertility should not do such a thing,” Wonshik said softly. He couldn’t bear seeing the little immortal in such a state. 

Jaehwan blinked at him through watery eyes and then up at the willow. Up at the broken branches and wilting switches. He turned and pressed his palms to the trunk, sighing deeply. The tree regenerated right before Wonshiks eyes. Green blooms healing and branches standing straight. It was a beautiful piece of magic, the kind of talent Wonshik had always envied. The ability to give life rather than take it. 

“Why did you come? If your heart is so set in your decision, why didn’t you just stay away?”

The king of the damned stepped closer, staring down at Jaehwan’s trembling mouth. “Because I missed you, little immortal. My days are dreary without your radiance to bring me warmth. Your presence is a light in the darkness to me.”

“Do not speak such, I beg you,” the boy whispered, eyes downcast and arms wrapped around his narrow chest. “You’re being very contradictory.”

Wonshik sighed, resting a tentative hand on the top of Jaehwan’s head. His brown hair was so soft, almost like a puppies silky fur. He didn’t like seeing his friend upset, and he didn’t want to be the one responsible for hurting Jaehwan’s feelings. Maybe it wouldn’t be-

“I’ll consider it,” he murmured, petting Jaehwan’s head. 

“Really?!”

The boys face lit in a smile, skin almost glistening with joy. “Yes, but do not get your hopes up too high, little immortal. I am going to be realistic about-”

The beginning of Wonshik’s warning cut off as Jaehwan lept at him, slinging his skinny arms around the lord of the underworld’s neck and hugging him tight. Wonshik grinned despite himself and spun the boy in a circle. “In the meantime, sit with me and tell me what you have been doing since I saw you last.”

Jaehwan squeaked and bounded over to plop down upon Wonshiks cloak of shadows. The king of darkness followed, resting his back against the trunk and allowing the boy to tuck himself between his arms, Jaehwans hair tickling the underside of his chin. The little immortal was in purple today, a knit cardigan of plum wool around his torso and ending at his knees, pattern of leaves transitioning from magenta to lilac to periwinkle at the hem and cuffs. He had on his customary hand warmers as well, heather and iris with detailing in creme lace. It was such a soft picture, putting Wonshik in mind of a delicate flower. 

“I cannot do much nature magic,” the lord of the dead said, pointing to a patch of grass several feet away, “But I can do a small bit.”

Slim stalks pushed up from the spot he was pointing at, blooming into purple Narcissus flowers and filling the air with noir perfume. Jaehwan applauded and rolled away, lying on his stomach and starting to weave the blooms into a wreath. 

He’d have to do some deep thinking, Wonshik thought, watching Jaehwan with a smile on his face. Weigh the possible pros and infinite cons of allowing this boy into his life in a more significant way. It was a bad idea, that wasn’t up for debate. It just was. But if it would make Jaehwan happy then, really, how could he refuse? The little immortal was a conundrum Wonshik never thought he’d need to solve. 

“Look! I made a crown!” Jaehwan squeaked, setting the narcissus wreath on his brunette head and bounding back over. “It looks lovely with your sweater,” the king of the dead replied, taking Jaehwan’s outstretched hand.

  
  



	4. Bud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jaehwan is technically Hakyeon's son in this story, don't think too much of it. The ways of the greek pantheon are frustrating sometimes but what can one do?

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Wonshik moved silently through the halls of his palace, dodging shades left and right as he went. The afternoon with his friend had been a truly marvelous break from the unending stream of souls waiting for judgement, but it could only last for so long. 

Hed decided to consult the fates for guidance with the problem of Jaehwan. Consult them, if indirectly. 

A shade servant opened the door to his study and Wonshik padded to his desk, pulling a round mirror about the size of his hand from the top drawer. But when the lord of the dead moved to take Jaehwan’s handwarmer offering from his pocket, there was a sharp knock on the door. 

Not many people could actually, _ physically _ pay Wonshik a visit down here and so the noise (or echo) came as quite a shock. Not many people could get in. His brothers could, but they would call him to Olympus if they needed to speak with him. No, there was only one person it could be. 

“Come in,” he called, setting the mirror down and leaning back in his chair. As expected, Hongbin entered the room without a whisper of sound, his signature _ ‘I know something you don’t’ _ smile plastered right across his face. 

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Wonshik asked, slipping his hand in his pocket and unconsciously petting the soft woolen treasure hidden there. _ “Well...” _ the messenger replied, drawing out the ‘L’ sound to an unnecessary degree, “I saw you.”

“Doing what?” the lord of the dead asked, not blinking an eye. Hongbin could have seen him doing any number of things. It wouldn’t work in his favor to accidentally admit to doing something he shouldn’t. Something like visiting-

“Entering Demeter’s fields.”

Ah... well... no need to lie then. Maybe just a half-truth would do.

“And what about it?”

Hongbin crossed his arms, Wonshik doing everything in his power not to look shifty. “You know her, if she finds you there she’ll hang you on a rock for the eagles to eat just like they did with Prometheus. Why would you risk such a thing?”

“The scenery is lovely.” The scenery _ was _ lovely, but the boy who dwelled there was even lovelier still. 

“And you know... your brother has a child living there?”

Wonshik cocked his head to the side, feigning disinterest. As if he _ didn’t _ know that the most beautiful person in all the realms regularly scampered through those fields of gold. As if Jaehwan’s face _ wasn’t _ permanently stuck in his head like an adorable little virus. “Which brother, Hakyeon or Taekwoon?”

“Hakyeon. The god of thunder isn’t fond of people encroaching on his territory.”

“Oh, just tell him to lighten up. You know I care not for the company of other immortals,” Wonshik half-lied. He didn’t care about other immortals. Just one. 

Hongbin’s smile faltered a bit. “Hey! I’m immortal and I’m your friend!” he exclaimed, recrossing his arms over his broad chest. Wonshik conceded that point with a nod. “You’re right, apologies.”

“Anyway, I just came to warn you that you should stay off Demeter’s land. Her wrath combined with Hakyeon’s will only end with unpleasantness and I like you too much to watch it happen without speaking up.”

“Thank you, I’ll take your warnings to heart,” Wonshik replied, gifting his friend with a rare smile. A kindness for a kindness. Hongbin grinned in return. “Now that all that’s been sorted, come to olympus and have a drink with me. Dionysus is throwing a party and it promises to be quite the spectacle.”

The king of the damned shook his head. He needed to get rid of his friend so he could consult his mirror as soon as possible. The matter of Jaehwan hung heavy around his neck like a yoke. “Too many souls to process, I’m afraid. If you could do something about the Trojans I’d be eternally grateful. It’s such a nuisance.”

“I already am. Hakyeon ordered me to aid the greeks in their fight against them.”

“Good,” Wonshik replied, nodding sharply and pulling his book of names in front of him, pretending to get to work. He knew Hongbin was looking at him but acted like he didn’t notice, giving his friend a salute when the messenger bid him farewell.

Wonshik sighed and shut the register. He propped his mirror up against the book and folded his hands, staring into it as intently as he could. No, this wouldn’t work. Mirrors tricked the user too easily. Not as badly as fire liked too, but the mirror would only show him what he wanted to see. With a heavy sigh, the king of the dead replaced his mirror in the drawer and moved about the room, gathering everything he’d need. A shallow bowl... piece of cut onyx... candles...

Candles were always always a bit finicky in the underworld but Wonshik got them to light after several failed attempts. He set one taper on either side of the bowl and waved his hand, filling the vessel with ice cold water. He dropped the chunk of black stone into its center and relaxed. Blinking slowly. Smoothing out the muscles in his face. Modulating his breathing. 

It didn’t take long for his mind to slip, losing himself in the trancelike, almost hypnotic state that scrying required. Wonshik stared into the bowl as the water ripped around the edges. Only slightly. Only enough to distort the reflection.

_ “Darling, there are so many more amusing ways we could be spending our time.” _

_ Wonshik turned his head but he already knew what he would find. Jaehwan. His partner, his husband, his dark prince. And gods be damned but Wonshik loved him. _

_ Jaehwan blinked back at the king of the dead from where he was reclining on his throne. One long leg tossed carelessly over the armrest, the streaks of silver in his sepia hair glistening against the circlet of metallic thorns atop his head. Puppy eyes now sharp and rimmed in khol. His cloak of shadows undulated as he moved, the embroidered pattern of night-blooming flowers ever shifting like they were caught in a breeze. _

_ His throne was smaller than Wonshik’s but no less ornate. That was how it should be. It was all normal. Jaehwan had lived with him in the underworld for centuries now. Millenia even. Naturally, residing in the dark would have had an effect on him. _

_ “What do you have in mind?” the king of the dead inquired, extending a hand that Jaehwan greedily snatched up. His smile was as bewitching as ever, even if it now possessed a razored quality it hadn’t when they met. “I can think of a few options.” _

_ Wonshik dismissed the shades still awaiting judgement from his throne room with a lazy wave. It’s not like they were going anywhere, they could wait a bit longer. _

_ Jaehwan tugged at Wonshik’s fingers as he stood, arching his back and stretching like a cat. His steps made no sound as he moved, the leather boots Jaehwan now favored skidding a bit on the polished marble. No more bare feet. He didn’t bound across sun-warmed earth any longer and the cold stone floors of the palace weren’t meant to come in contact with one’s skin. _

_ “How may I help you?” he asked, watching Jaehwan lean down and brace a hand on either side of him. Fingers curling around the arms of Wonshiks throne. Those eyes of his, once so sweet and lovely, glittered like broken glass. _

_ Jaehwan surged forward and captured the lord of the underworld’s mouth. He was so hot still, even down here, warmth spilling off him like it spilled off nothing else and Wonshik’s hands found his waist. Dragging Jaehwan down on top of him. Fingertips digging into the tops of his thighs as Jaehwan straddled him. Their chests were flush, marble cold at Wonshik’s back and his husband near scalding at his front, the contrasting sensations enough to make his head begin to spin. _

_ It still took Wonshik by surprise, the ferocity with which Jaehwan liked to go after him. The shy, tentative touches from their first kiss, first time, had been left in the past. Heartlessly abandoned more like. No, Jaehwan kissed the lord of the underworld like he could suck the divinity out of Wonshik’s body through his mouth. _

_ “Let me taste you, darling,” his husband murmured, biting Wonshik’s lower lip. He’d slipped his hands up under Wonshiks tunic and was scratching at his abdomen so insistently that his silver-tipped fingernails broke the skin. _

_ Wonshik gasped. He shifted up to hold his husbands waist again, heat swelling in his gut as Jaehwan grinded against him. Rocking his hips smoothly down on Wonshiks lap, hard. _

_ He loved Jaehwan so much it was like a physical ache. His husband could do no wrong in his eyes. Wonshik thought of him constantly, it didn’t matter if they were in the same room or not. Jaehwan could be sitting right beside him and still, on occasion, Wonshik would be overcome with a burning need to see him, feel him, touch him... the king of the dead knew everything about Jaehwan. Knew his body like he had a road map to it, knew how he thought, knew his mind and soul. It should have faded by now, or Wonshik would have assumed that the passion would have faded after several hundred years but no. Wonshik didn’t think it ever would. _

_ “As you wish.” _

_ Jaehwan smiled against his mouth, a smile Wonshik knew would be wicked sharp and gleaming with mischief, before sliding back to kneel on the marble floor. The flowers of his cloak began to ripple with more determination as Jaehwan spread Wonshiks legs apart and settled between his thighs. It didn’t matter than Wonshik was still sitting on his throne, it wouldn’t have mattered if Wonshik were standing on a tightrope surrounded by sharks. When Jaehwan wanted him, Jaehwan got him. _

_ “Gods above, I love you so fucking much,” his husband breathed, tugging Wonshiks pants down and pressing kisses against his bare hip. Wonshik could feel the weight of Jaehwans eyes on him, trying to suppress a shiver as Jaehwans long fingers wrapped around his throbbing cock- _

Wonshik surfaced with a rasping breath. He shook himself hard, swiping the bowl away and splashing water across the floor of his office without a care. 

Jaehwan hadn’t been wearing his handwarmers. For some reason, that was the detail that stuck most firmly with Wonshik. He looked down at his own shaking hands. Pulled the woolen offerings from the folds of his cloak and held them in front of his eyes. The colors still shifted, green to blue to purple and back again, so dark they were almost black. It was such a beautiful gift, the thoughtfulness behind the gesture somehow inspiring more feeling than the things themselves. 

The after effects of the vision began to make the king of the dead feel queasy. Jaehwan- that hadn’t been _ his _ Jaehwan. The man Wonshik had scryed in the bowl was cold. Passionate and fiery, yes, but the glint in his eyes and curve of his smile were distinctly cruel. His Jaehwan, his sweet little friend with sunshine innocence and silly clothes was nowhere to be seen. 

“This won’t-“ Wonshik whispered to himself as he sank back in his chair. He swallowed the lump in his throat, slipping the handwarmers down past his shaking fingers and settling them on his wrists. They were as soft as they looked, cradling the lord of death in unfamiliar comfort. They even smelled of grass. Just a bit. 

“I can’t do this,” he sighed, hiding his face in his knit-covered hands. 

He couldn’t condemn his sweet boy to the future he’d just seen. Couldn’t watch the happiness drain from his eyes only to be replaced by that ice. Couldn’t expose Jaehwan to the horrors that would turn him so cynical. Couldn’t watch him fall so deep into shadows that the rainbow was leached out of both his body and his heart. 

“I can’t. Being alone but happy for eternity would be better than that.”

  
  



	5. Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry about the delay!!!!!!  
I have about 16 other Stories going on (which is entirely my own fault) as well as rapidly approaching finals, so I haven't had time to get in the headspace for this story. I though waiting until I was in the right mood would be better than just forcing out a chapter for the sake of posting. 
> 
> Be patient with me <3
> 
> *Un-beta'd as all the people I'd normally ask are busy with their own stuff and I didn't want to bother them, so please try and ignore my mistakes if there are any*

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It had been a month. A full thirty one days since Wonshik had returned. Since Wonshik had said he would consider the idea of taking Jaehwan as a lover. A month since that conversation, and he hadn’t shown himself again. No shadows tugging at the hem of Jaehwan’s coat, no deep laughter that the shook the ground beneath Jaehwans feet, no glint of silver hair catching the afternoon sun. And Jaehwan was _ incredibly _ displeased. 

He didn’t understand what he could have possibly done wrong this time. Wonshik had dropped kisses light as flower petals atop his head, held him gently in the crook of his arm, played with his fingers. Jaehwan had been so overwhelmingly sure Wonshik would accept him, accept this burning spark of love that had ignited in his chest the first time Wonshik had drawn the shadows over them, painting the sky with ink and diamonds.

And if _ that _ weren’t enough, the young immortal had begun having dreams. He wasn’t normally prone to prophetic visions, either while sleeping or awake, and they had frightened him at first. He’d almost told his mother about them, aching to disclose the details to someone, _ anyone. _But that would mean giving up any chance of happiness with the king of the damned and so he’d kept his mouth shut. 

He’d startled awake from the first one, brow damp with sweat and heart pounding against his rib cage, the very night of Wonshiks visit. The throne room of the underworld, Jaehwan had never seen the place with his own eyes and yet he had been _ absolutely _ sure that was what it had been, himself seated on an ornate throne of onyx and glass. He had known without looking that Wonshik would be seated beside him in all his glory, his husband, his king, and _ gods _ but Jaehwan felt his love for Wonshik crackling inside his chest like a lightning storm. 

And then again, just over a fortnight ago. Jaehwan had been able to feel the swish of silk around his body, the press of thorns against his forehead, the press of Wonshiks strong hands on his waist. Felt himself rocking back, more full than he’d _ ever _ been. Fuller than the few times he’d experimentally pushed a finger or two inside himself. Pressure and heat pooling in the pit of his stomach, drowning the butterflies that had taken up residence there. Heard his husbands voice like a rumble of distant thunder. _ ‘So beautiful, my dark prince, the loveliest creature to ever grace this realm or any other.’ _

And they’d kept on happening like that. Night after night after night and Jaehwan was beginning to think he’d gone mad. He wasn’t unwise in the ways of lovemaking, Hongbin always obligingly answered his questions on the matter and he’d even stumbled across of pair of nymphs in the act last time he’d ventured to Olympus with his mother. It had been a truly _ shocking _ display of skin and Jaehwan had been appalled at the sight, their slippery bodies tangling together and glowing with a rush of euphoria he’d never experienced first hand. 

In essence, Jaehwan was angry. The plants around him had taken note of the shift in his temperament, wilting and drying out every time he passed. There was nothing else for it. If the king of the dead wouldn’t come to Jaehwan, then Jaehwan would go to him. 

He’d meticulously planned for the evenings excursion. Wait until his mother fell asleep, dress in his most formal attire, ascend to Olympus and find Hongbin, and then ask the divine messenger for directions. Jaehwan could get to Olympus, every immortal could no matter how young and relatively unimportant they were, he’d just never actually _ wanted _ to go. 

Demeter had just fallen asleep and so Jaehwan was getting dressed. Donning a white linen tunic and loose-legged pants of emerald green. He’d stayed up late for three nights sewing to make sure they were ready in time. Make sure he’d be _ presentable. _ Jaehwan left off his normal colorful coat and hand warmers, remembering Wonshiks comment from one of his earlier visits. _ ‘If you wear those to Olympus, everyone is going to whisper behind your back.’ _ It had hurt Jaehwans feelings a bit, hearing that, since he always tried to look his best whenever the king of the damned was around. But now he would use the information to his advantage. 

Jaehwan stepped into a pair of gold sandals he almost always ignored, laced them up his ankles and calves, and slipped silently from the house. He found the moonlight staircase only a half mile into the fields and began to climb. Following the luminous path until he was up amongst the clouds. And there it was. Olympus. 

The fact he didn’t actually know where he was going didn’t deter the young immortal, winding his way through glittering palaces of gold and marble. People were _ everywhere. _ Gods and goddesses dripping is luscious fabric and studded with precious stones. A surprising number of heads turned as he past. Eyes followed him as he walked and Jaehwan tried not to feel uncomfortable, not wanting to appear self conscious. The immortals were like a pack of beautiful wolves, they’d pounce at the first sign of weakness. 

“Why, hello there.”

A hand on his back startled a little squeak from Jaehwan and he turned around, unable to stop his breath from hitching as he took the man in. Stunningly handsome with eyes the color of sea glass and hair like indigo satin. Jaehwans heart stuttered slightly. 

“Hello, I’m looking for Hakyeon, do you know where I might find him?” Jaehwan replied, excuse ready on his tongue. Hakyeon. The king of Olympus, a man both father and brother to him in equal measure. Jaehwan knew Hongbin would most likely be with Hakyeon and it was a safer story. More believable. 

“Ah, paying a visit to the king? I can escort you to his throne room if you’d like.”

“Thank you, that's very kind of you,” Jaehwan replied, hesitantly taking the man’s proffered arm. 

They began to walk, Jaehwan keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. He spoke to strangers so rarely that the whole experience was a little overwhelming-

“I haven’t seen you before...”

The strangers voice was sweet, honied music to Jaehwans ears and the young immortal dared a glance up. “I don’t come up very often,” he replied, quiet. Something about the man was making him feel dizzy and warm, a bit like the time Wonshik had brought him nectar. 

“Mm,” the man hummed slipping a hand around Jaehwans waist as they turned a corner. “I would have remembered such a lovely face.”

Jaehwan felt himself flush, knees going slightly weak. He was pulled to a gentle stop in a shaded ally, music ringing from somewhere Jaehwan couldn’t see like the notes had been caught on a breeze. There was a hand on his cheek now, the stranger looking at him with such heat that Jaehwan almost recoiled._ Almost. _

His back was to a wall now too, the stranger caressing his face with a gentleness that was nearly loving. Every spot his fingers brushed made Jaehwans skin burn with-

“What do we have _ here?” _

A deep voice, blissfully familiar, and it cut straight through the haze that had been steadily filling the young immortals skull. 

“Hongbin?” he croaked, throat dry as he dragged his eyes away from the beautiful stranger. The divine messenger was standing at the end of the ally, winged sandals on his feet and chestnut hair falling into his eyes. 

“I found this pretty little one wandering about like a lost lamb and couldn’t help but offer my assistance, it’s none of your concern,” the stranger murmured, drawing Jaehwan attention back to him. 

Hongbin scoffed, not bothering to disguise his disbelief. “Dionysus, I know you’ve never been one to think before you act, but this is Demeter’s child. I think you know how jealously she guards her treasures.”

The stranger released Jaehwan and stepped back in one motion, moving so abruptly that the young immortal nearly slid down the wall. “I’m not looking to start another war, but if your mother ever sets you free, lovely, do come and pay me a visit.”

With a wink and a smile, the stranger glided past Hongbin and out the ally mouth. Dionysus. Jaehwan had just met _ Dionysus. _

“What are you doing here alone?! How many times have I told you to trust no one but your mother and I?” Hongbin hissed, stepping to Jaehwans side and straightening his clothes. The young immortal hadn’t even notice his tunic had come undone... 

“He said he would accompany me to Hakyeon’s throne room,” Jaehwan replied, throat rough and still feeling a bit dazed. 

“The palace is in the opposite direction,” Hongbin replied coldly. “I’m sure he would have taken you there after he had his way with you. Dionysus is notorious for behavior such as this. You _ have _ to be more careful!”

Jaehwan nodded dumbly. He’d heard such rumors about the god of vines but he’d never met him in person! How was he supposed to know who was who?!

“Why are you here Jaehwan?”

“I was looking for you.”

“Why?” Hongbin asked, eyeing the young immortal with a mix of fondness and suspicion. Jaehwan cleared his throat. “I need directions to the forge of Hephaestus.”

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After several lies and a story about wanting to get a present made for Demeter, the divine messenger had instructed Jaehwan how to get to the forge. It was on an island deep in the Aegean Sea. Jaehwan was determined to accomplish his task before Helios took to his chariot and so he’d convinced Hongbin to take him. Well, to drop him off. Jaehwan didn’t want the divine messenger hanging around and overhearing his request. 

The cave Jaehwan entered was dark, but he could already feel the _ heat. _ The legendary volcano flame Hephaestus used to craft his wonders. Jaehwan was very glad he’d decided to wear shoes. He walked deeper and deeper and deeper until he was fairly certain he’d reached the center of the earth.

“Hello?” he called, cupping his hands around his mouth to try and make himself heard over the rumbles and clangs. Such a racket, he’d never experienced before. “Hello!? Hephaestus? Are you in?”

All at once, the noises stopped. 

“Who goes there?”

A large, _ large _ man shuffled from the shadows. He was tall, a good head taller than Jaehwan and substantially broader besides, with hair the color of midnight flame and charcoal smudged across one high cheek. 

“Did you wander into my sacred place by accident, mortal?”

Jaehwan realized he was just standing there, staring mutely up at this giant like a frightened child. “Are y-you Hephaestus?” he squeaked, although the answer was plain. 

“Yes, and you are no mortal, now that I look closer. You may call me Sanghyuk.”

The huge man gifted Jaehwan a surprisingly cute, rather squishy smile. Jaehwan managed to smile in return. “It’s nice to meet you, Sanghyuk.”

Sanghyuk set his enormous hammer down and propped it against the caved wall, attempting to wipe the dirt from his face with a sleeve. He only succeeded in smearing it further. “So, how may I help you?”

“I need you to make something for me,” Jaehwan replied, straightening up and trying to look important. Sanghyuk arched a brow, expression amused. “Well... yes. But what specifically?”

“A key.”

“Just a key? You could ask a human for such a mundane item.”

“Not any old key, I think you’re the only one who could make it.”

Sanghyuk crossed his arms. “What are you trying to unlock?” he asked, interest clearly piqued. 

Jaehwan inhaled and exhaled a steadying breath. He’d seen the key hanging around Wonshiks neck a thousand times. Pure gold with a heart-shaped handle, vines of adamantine and silver woven throughout. He’d idley fiddled with it, yanking the unbreakable chain that it hung on just so he could hear a sharp sigh from the king of the damned. Wonshik had told him that only he, Zeus, and Poseidon possessed such keys and that they had been crafted by Hephaestus when the realms were divided. 

He’d bet Wonshik would never have imagined that Jaehwan would use that information, but here Jaehwan was. About to try and charm the heavenly metallurgist into making him one. There were other ways into the realm of the dead but Jaehwan wasn’t looking to fight monsters or get his soul eaten by the damned. He might as well use the front door. 

“I need to get into hell.” 

  
  



	6. Ripening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why this story takes so long, but I won't think about it for weeks and then suddenly write a whole chapter in a day lol
> 
> I hope you like it ~

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Wonshik’s head turned of its own accord, looking towards the door of his throne room. Something was wrong, he could smell it. Taste it in the air where there usually was no taste. Hear it like ringing in his ears where there usually was no sound. Something was in his kingdom. Something that shouldn’t be. Something _ alive. _

He stood abruptly, the line of shades waiting to be judged shrinking back as he stalked past. Cowering like dogs expecting a smack. But Wonshik ignored them. Didn’t have patience for them. There was someone trespassing in his kingdom and he was going to find them and drop them in the River Styx. Foolish, pesky mortals always going places they weren’t supposed to go. Sticking their noses into things that didn’t concern them. 

His footsteps made no sound on the marble floor, Wonshik passing through his palace like nothing more than shadow. There had been a noticeable drop in the king of the damned’s temperment of late. Since he’d stopped paying visits to his sunshine boy. Since the light had left his immortal life. Wonshik was constantly tired. Quicker to anger than he had once been and more severe with his judgements. And he seemed to be perpetually chilly. Wonshik had never really noticed the cold until he’d basked in his little friend's light. 

This trespasser was going to get the shock of their very short life, Wonshik thought with a twinge of savage delight. As he made his way down the steps to the front of his palace, Wonshik began gathering the shadows about him. Molding the liquid darkness to his devices, pulling it inside him, letting it transform him as he walked. He knew what the human would see when he found them. Skeletal black wings, irises glowing scarlet, razor sharp fangs dripping with silver ichor. Impressive and terrifying. 

Wonshik followed the sound of this life, this living and beating heart that had no place in his realm. He could almost feel their warmth now. Even so far away it reached out with invisible fingers, trying to worm its way into his bones. 

The garden. They were in his garden. His garden of dead things that would never grow, never flower, never bloom. The king of the underworld turned down the path to the garden, the Meadows of Asphodel just visible in the distance. 

Wonshik could see them now, light ringing their body like a halo. Green pants and a white tunic and golden sandals. How on earth did they get in here?! None of his wards had been disturbed, neither had his monsters been injured nor paths been followed. He should have been alerted a hundred times at least before this human even made it to the palace gates! 

“Mortal!” he growled, the unfamiliar sound of his monstrous voice leaving his mouth like a rumble of thunder. “How dare you trespass in my kingdom!”

The human turned to face him, screamed, and promptly fell backwards, tripping over the lacing of their golden sandals. Wonshik... Wonshik froze. He recognized that angel face even if the clothes were unfamiliar. Those puppy brown eyes wide with fright and sunshine smile pulled down into a frown. With horror, the king of the damned noted a single streak of silver in his sweet boy’s hair. 

“Jaehwan?!” he exclaimed, banishing the shadow mask and nearly jogging the help the boy up. Jaehwan, his Jaehwan, was here somehow and staring at the king of the underworld like- Wonshik didn’t have a word for it. A step above frightened. 

“You- you told me you didn’t have fangs!”

Jaehwan voice was croaky and hoarse. Wonshik went to him, knelt before him, but Jaehwan skittered backward. He wrapped the long sleeves of his tunic around his person, hugging himself as though he could protect himself. 

“Just a mirage, little immortal, just a trick of the shadows. Not real,” Wonshik assured him, reaching out once more. His boy didn’t flinch away this time, allowing the king of the damned to pet his hair, to cup his cheek. Jaehwan felt so warm, warmer than he seemed on the surface. The coolness of the underworld amplifying the life force burning within him. 

Jaehwan blinked up at him and cleared his throat. “You scared me.”

_ “You _ scared _ me!” _ Wonshik replied, louder than he meant too but he couldn’t be quiet just then. Seeing his boy here, surrounded by nothing but darkness and death, with that hint of silver in his hair, it was making the lord of the underworld nauseous. “How could you come down here alone?! How _ did _ you come down here?! You- Jaehwan, do you know how dangerous it is?!” 

The young immortal's mouth set in a determined line. “You left me again. You said you’d consider it, and then you never came back.”

Wonshik, still reeling from Jaehwan's sudden appearance in his garden, had to bite his tongue to stop himself blurting out the vision he’d scried. He managed to gather himself enough to stand and pulled Jaehwan up with him. Looking his sweet boy up and down, the strangeness of the clothing poked at Wonshik’s mind again. 

“What are these? Where is your sweater? And your handwarmers?” Wonshik asked, distracted, taking Jaehwan’s hands in his own. _ Gods _ but the boy was warm. “I went to Olympus and you said that people would whisper about me if I wore them up there.”

Wonshik shook his head back and forth very quickly. “It is dangerous up there too! And you went alone?!”

“Yes! I went to go find Hongbin, got cornered by Dionysus, met Sanghyuk, and then almost fell down the stairs to get here! It’s been a very taxing evening and I would be grateful for some tea, if you ever actually plan on inviting me in!” 

Jaehwan’s frown had strengthened into what was almost a pout, but Wonshik was too distracted to notice. The boy had been cornered by- “Did you say Dionysus?”

“Yes!”

The king of the underworld blanched. He could feel the blood draining from his face and his grip on Jaehwan’s hands tightened considerably. “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you? If he did I swear by all the shades of my realm I will go up there and throw him off the highest tower of Hakyeon's palace! How could-“

“He didn’t hurt me,” Jaehwan interrupted, eyes softening as he stepped forward and tucked himself between Wonshik’s arms. The king of the damned hugged him close. He could feel Jaehwan's warmth seeping slowly into his bones. 

The young immortal nosed against his neck, and Wonshik could hear the smile in the voice he loved so much as Jaehwan whispered, “I’m just happy to see you.”

“I’m happy to see you too, little immortal, truly I am. But how did you come to be here?” Wonshik asked, resting his forehead on the crown of Jaehwan's hair. He smelled like nature. Fresh-bloomed flowers and soft grass. And a hint of... smoke? 

Jaehwan shifted around until he could slip a hand through the neck of his tunic. What he produced made Wonshik gape in surprise. “Where did you get this?” he asked, trailing his finger across the adamantine key that hung on a chain around Jaehwan’s neck. For half a heartbeat he thought the boy had stolen it from him, but no. He could feel the weight of his own key against his chest. 

The young immortal tucked it away again and beamed up at Wonshik, clearly very pleased with himself. “Hephaestus, or Sanghyuk, that’s what he told me to call him. He made it for me. Barely took him an hour to do it, and he gave me _ tea _ while I waited.” The word tea had a heavy emphasis that Wonshik didn’t miss. 

“Come then,” he said, a sense of woozy unreality setting in. It felt like the most important thing in Wonshik’s world at that moment was giving Jaehwan tea. He slipped an arm around Jaehwan’s middle and guided him down the path to the palace entrance. 

“I’ll feed you, but then I’m taking you straight back to Demeter’s fields before she can skin me alive. And you’d better think of a good story to tell her that doesn’t involve me.”

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Jaehwan tried not to stare around at the high ceilings and marble floors of this ostentatious palace as Wonshik guided him down first one hall, then another. Then another still. 

Compared to the sandstone and glittering white of Olympus, the palace of the underworld was dark. Almost everything was somewhere between grey and black, crystal mirrors on the walls like sheets of ice. They gleamed in a dim light that seemed to have no source, putting Jaehwan in mind of a sparkling waterfall. Not that he’d ever actually _ seen _ a waterfall. But his mother told him about them. 

The chill was worse than anything he’d ever felt though, and by the time they reached a pair of black double doors, Jaehwan had begun to shiver. He missed his long sweaters and handwarmers. 

Two shades opened the doors and Wonshik lead Jaehwan inside what turned out to be a parlor. Leather pallets and low tables and an empty hearth. Wonshik murmured something to a shade, Jaehwan only getting as far into the room as he could while holding his friend's hand. The young immortal was reluctant to let go just yet. 

“Tea will be brought shortly, as well as some cakes,” Wonshik said, laughing softly as Jaehwan drew him towards one of the pallets. The young immortal had missed that laugh. 

He pulled Wonshik down and sat beside him for only a moment before cuddling up. Mostly because he was touch-starved and wanted to feel his friend's strong body against his, but also because he was starting to shiver harder. It really was absolutely _ freezing. _

“Can you light a fire?”

“Not usually, fire doesn’t like it down here.”

“Then why do you have a hearth?” 

Jaehwan’s teeth and started to chatter and Wonshik looked him over. “Here,” he said, pulling the cloak of shadows from around his shoulders and draping it over Jaehwan. It was only then that the young immortal noticed Wonshik was wearing the handwarmers he’d made. Jaehwan couldn’t stop his smile at the sight. 

Apparently satisfied that Jaehwan was covered enough, Wonshik turned his attention to the fireplace. He stared at it so hard and for so long that Jaehwan began to worry Wonshik forgotten he was there. But then a small flame kindled between two dry logs, growing merrily until it was a steady blaze. Jaehwan clapped.

“Tell me,” Wonshik murmured, turning so he was facing the young immortal, features hard like they’d been carved from stone. “Why did you come. Why did you _ really _ come.”

Jaehwan worried his lip between his teeth. How could he explain? How could he say that he couldn’t bring himself to return to a world of small things? That the world seemed to lose all the color it once had while Wonshik wasn’t with him? Those things that had once brought him joy, weaving and painting and tending the fields, these were like purgatory now that he didn’t have the promise of seeing his friend each day. That he thought of Wonshik constantly. Would think of funny things to tell his friend or questions he wanted to ask or stories he wanted to hear, but he never had the chance anymore. Jaehwan didn’t know how to condense those feelings down, so he settled with, “I have dreams about you.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

Wonshik’s eyes narrowed, just a hair, his eyelids getting a bit heavier. “What are these dreams about?”

Jaehwan swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, but was spared by a shade gliding into the room with the promised tea. It set the platter it was carrying down on the table before them, bowed, and then quit the room without speaking a word. Jaehwan’s hand shot out to pick up the teapot but Wonshik caught his wrist, gently pushing it away before pouring the steaming amber liquid into two ornate silver cups. “Go on,” he urged, setting down the pot and taking a cup for himself. 

The cakes had momentarily distracted the young immortal. Small and petite, white frosting and delicate little flowers of spun black sugar on top. Small enough to fit in the palm of Jaehwan’s hand. He snatched one off the tray and began to nibble, hoping to put off speaking about his strange dreams for a moment or two longer. 

Wonshik just watched him. Neither taking a cake nor having a sip of tea. Just watching, and Jaehwan stared down at the piece in his hands, trying to chew as slowly as possible. 

It was so startling to be in this place, void of sunlight and sound. It felt like he’d lost something he couldn’t name. Something intangible. But he’d gained something as well. Even if his outsides were cold, his insides seem to _ blaze _ with heat. It was being in Wonshik’s presence, Jaehwan knew, that made his stomach twist and crackle. 

“Is my mother really that scary?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation away from the details of his dreams. “It’s just that Dyonisis said he didn’t want to start a war and ran off as soon as he found out who I am.”

Wonshik gave him a knowing look but nodded all the same. “She is frightful when she’s in a rage, and Dionysus is a coward. I’m not surprised he took off. Filthy degenerate. But tell me, what happened in these dreams?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Dreams always matter.”

Jaehwan stuffed a bite of cake into his mouth and stared at the fire. If he was chewing, he couldn’t talk. The king of the damned took the remainder of the treat from Jaehwan’s hand and set it back on the tray. “Once you say it, it’ll be done. Better to get it over with than stretch out the anticipation,” he said, laying back on the pallet until he was reclining against the cushioned armrest. An arm folded behind his head. 

The lump in his throat having nothing to do with the cake he’d just inhaled, Jaehwan curled up beside his friend and watched the cloak of shadows undulate over his arms. He thought it would feel like silk or satin but it didn’t. Didn’t feel like any fabric Jaehwan had ever felt before, slipping across his skin like water. 

“You call me your dark prince, in the dreams I mean,” Jaehwan mumbled, a flush beginning to creep up his cheeks at the memories. Wonshik got noticeably tense, shoulders stilling where Jaehwan had been resting his head. “Don’t worry, it means nothing. Just dreams, you know, silly,” he hastened to add. Hoping to lessen the damage. If that little tidbit had been enough to make his friend uncomfortable then there was no way Jaehwan would tell the rest. 

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?” Jaehwan asked, stopping himself from looking up to meet Wonshik’s eyes. The room was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm and Jaehwan didn’t think it had anything to do with the steadily burning fire. 

Wonshik shifted a little, hiding his face in the young immortal's hair. “I didn’t just leave you without reason, little immortal. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid.”

“What do you mean?” Jaehwan asked, wiggling around so he could rest his forehead against Wonshik’s. The young immortal's heart gave a small jolt in his chest. They’d been closer then this before, and on many occasions, but it felt different this time somehow. More charged. 

“I consulted the Fates the day I visited you last, when I returned. I saw...”

Jaehwan felt his heart flutter more insistently. He couldn’t even imagine what horrible things Wonshik had seen that would cause him to abandon Jaehwan with no plans of returning. 

“You. My dark prince, sitting on a throne at my side.”

“Oh,” Jaehwan breathed, “Well that’s... interesting?” He didn’t know what else to say, didn’t know why that would be a bad thing, unless the idea of being stuck with him so intimately was something Wonshik wouldn’t enjoy. Jaehwan could understand why. He knew he was juvenile and annoying and talked too much and was too sheltered to ever be interesting enough to entertain someone as worldly as Wonshik. But the thought still sent a strong twinge of sadness twisting his stomach. He wished he hadn’t eaten that cake. 

“Having you at my side isn’t the part I took issue with, little immortal. You weren’t you anymore. You were cold and sharp and all the color had drained from you. And you didn’t wear handwarmers and your hair had gone all silver, which is why seeing this,” wonshik paused, wrapping a lock of Jaehwan's hair around his finger, “Is so worrying to me. The grim song of inevitability. I'm afraid you were tainted from the moment we met.”

“I haven’t been _ tainted!” _ Jaehwan squeaked, sitting up so abruptly that he accidentally dislodged Wonshik’s hand from his hair. “My horizons have been broadened, I’ve learned things, experienced more than I have in the rest of my life combined! I just didn’t know what I was missing before!”

Wonshik was staring at him blankly, but Jaehwan kept on talking. He needed to get all of this out or he’d explode. “I don’t want to stay a child my whole life! Gods, Wonshik, I’m _ not _ a child! I’ve been alive for hundreds and hundreds of years and I’m tired of being hidden away! Meeting you was a blessing if it was anything! It opened my eyes to the wonders of this world and I cannot simply shut them again!”

“Sweet boy-“

“No! No you _ listen _ to me!” Jaehwan was on his feet but he didn’t remember standing up. “How many times are we going to have this argument? I have a key now! If you kick me out, I’ll just keep coming back!”

“What if I take it from you?”

“I’ll get another one! Sanghyuk is my friend now, he’ll make me as many as it takes!” 

Wonshik’s mouth twitched. “And what are you going to do the next time you break into my kingdom that you think would change anything?”

Jaehwan suppressed the very strong urge to stomp his foot. “I will come here however many times it takes to convince you that I love you! And I’m immortal too, so you won’t get a moment of peace again for the rest of eternity!”

Hands were suddenly around his waist and Jaehwan collapsed back on the pallet with a yelp of surprise. “You love me, little immortal?” Wonshik murmured, petting Jaehwan's cheek. Their faces were much closer than a moment ago and Jaehwan forced himself not to gasp. He’d kissed Wonshik before, several times now, but always quick and chaste. The thought of any other kind of kissing, like the one in his dreams, those he’d never done before. 

“Yes.” The word came out steadier than Jaehwan had been expecting it too, and he basked in a single heartbeat of victory before Wonshik’s lips were pressed against his and all the thoughts evaporated from his mind. 

One of Wonshik’s hands wrapped gently around the back of his neck, the other coming to rest on his waist. Jaehwan fairly melted into the heady rush of unfamiliar pleasure. Soft and gentle. His heart stuttered as he felt Wonshik’s tongue graze the seam of his mouth. 

Jaehwan felt weak as a day old kitten in the king of the underworld’s embrace. It was as though he’d been caught in a sudden rain, the sensation of flapping wings in the pit of his stomach. Wonshik’s lips moved against his so easily, as easily as breathing. _ Easier _ even. It was better than the time he’d drank nectar, better than the way Sanghyuk’s cinnamon and licorice tea had warmed his stomach, better than anything Jaehwan had ever felt in his entire immortal life. And _ Wonshik _ had kissed _ him. _

Breaking away to draw a ragged breath, Jaehwan struggled to find something to say. Wonshik stopped him from having to say anything at all, dragging him back in and claiming his mouth with a sparkling sizzle of warmth. 

It could have been minutes or hours or days before the young immortal surfaced again. His body had gone soft, pliant, lulled to complete relaxation by the lazy kisses that had been pressed to his lips. The soothing hands petting his cheeks, rubbing gently across his back, carding through his hair. 

“I love you too, sunshine,” Wonshik mumbled, nuzzling the underside of Jaehwan’s jaw. Jaehwan felt his heart smack against his rib cage it had began to beat so hard. _ Sunshine. _ Wonshik called him _ sunshine. _

“You aren’t going to make me go back, are you?”

Wonshik paused, lips ghosting a trail of sparks along the column of Jaehwans neck. The young immortal shivered slightly. He hadn’t even realized the fire had gone out until he glanced at the darkened hearth. 

“Yes, I am.”

Jaehwans heart promptly sank right to the pit of his stomach. “Are you going to abandon me again? Am I going to have to break in here?”

The lord of the dead’s low chuckle vibrated against Jaehwan’s throat and he raised his head. Jaehwan caught his breath. Wonshik’s eyes had darkened, pupils dilated, cheeks flushed a hint of peach and silver hair in complete disarray. “No. But I want you safe at home in your own bed until I can figure out a way to reason with Demeter. The vision shown to me by the Fates is just one of many possible futures, and if I am going to love you, I want to love you properly. I don’t want to make you hide in the shadows for me.”

Jaehwan made a cooing sound he was positive he’d _ never _ made before and leaned in to drop a kiss on the tip of Wonshik’s nose. This was love. True love. The young immortal had never been more sure of anything in his entire life. 

With great reluctance, the two gulped down their now cold tea and finished the last of the cakes before slowly exiting the palace. They walked up the staircase to the mortal realm side by side. Hand in hand. 

Jaehwan never wanted to let go. He’d never felt so at home as he did when he was with Wonshik and the thought of leaving him again, even if only for a night, sent him shaking with indescribable fear. Like it would all vanish, slip through his fingers like water through a sieve. But he had his key now, his backup plan. Wonshik must know he couldn’t get rid of Jaehwan as easily as he had before. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Wonshik hummed, their feet sinking into the soft damp earth on the edge of Demeter's fields. Jaehwan threw his arms around Wonshik’s neck, kissing him as deftly as he could. Hands came around his waist and lifted him barely an inch off the ground. Jaehwan’s soul was flying, cresting the sunrise like birds wings- 

“Jaehwan, darling?! Is that you!?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *praise @Monsterboyf for beta'ing*
> 
> if you have any guesses for what's going to happen next (or things you *want* to happen next) please let me know! My cc is always open and you can dm me on twitter or Tumblr as well <3 love you all


	7. Bloom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter!!

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“Jaehwan, darling?! Is that you?”

Wonshik lifted his head, pulling away from his friend saccharine mouth and looking around. Demeter’s voice was closer than he’d been expecting. He’d raised the staircase almost half a mile from her home, why in the name of the gods was the awful woman so deep in the fields?

In his arms, Jaehwan jumped. Entire body flinching before going as rigid as a tree. Staying as still as prey who’d scented a hunter on the wind. Eyes wide and frightened. His arms were still tightly wound about Wonshik’s neck but... that expression on his face. It worried Wonshik deeply.

Swift as a deer, Jaehwan ducked out of his encircling arms and hid behind the king of the damned as though he were a shield. Wonshik didn’t mind. He let an arm drift back, finding the little immortal’s hand and lacing their fingers together. He’d protect Jaehwan from the titans themselves, Demeter was nothing.

The horrid woman appeared, dressed entirely in the glistening green that was her custom. It hurt Wonshik somehow, realizing he could see bits of Jaehwan in Demeter’s face. Tall and willow slim. The curve of the nose, the special hue of the brown eyes. The slight wave in the hair. But that was where the similarities ended. Demeter’s hair was long and wheat-gold, tumbling down around her waist, and it fluttered in the breeze as she swirled towards where the two immortals stood. The bright orange of sunset ringing her like a halo.

“What are you doing on _my_ land, Hades?! How _dare_ you set foot in a place of life?! I’m surprised the plants have not died at your feet!”

Jaehwan had begun to tremble against his back and Wonshik stood fast, straightening his shoulders. The woman may be mean but Wonshik was the king of the dead. He wasn’t so easily intimidated.

“I must speak with you, sister,” he said, giving Jaehwan’s hand a little squeeze. But Demeter was looking past him now, over his shoulder, normally wide brown eyes narrowing with rage.

“Jaehwan?! Jaehwan what are you doing there?! Come away this instant!” she exclaimed, deep earthy voice a hateful rumble as she held out a hand. Jaehwan didn’t move.

“Jaehwan, _now!”_

“Sister, listen to me, Jaehwan and I-”

Wonshik’s words cut off in a gasp, a whipcord of wheat curling around his ankle like a vine. He shook it off with an aggravated hiss. A second wound its way around his other ankle, then a third around his wrist.

“Mother stop it!” came the squeak, right beside Wonshik’s ear. He sent his own shadows curling around Demeter, not to harm, just as a distraction.

“What sinister enchantment have you placed on my son?! What have you done to my perfect boy?!”

The stalks of wheat seemed to grow and change as they swayed, now looking more like golden tentacles than anything else. They reached for Wonshik more insistently now and were much harder to ignore. From behind him, Jaehwan shrieked.

“No, mother! Stop it! Leave him- leave me-”

The warmth against his back vanished and Wonshik whipped his head around, just in time to see Jaehwan being dragged away by ropes of poison ivy. He made a grab for Jaehwan and missed, the little immortal was a breath too far, and Wonshik felt his aggravation spike. Rounding on Demeter again, Wonshik stared her down, hatred burning in his heart. “If you harm him, sister, I swear-”

“I harm him?! Me?! You dare accuse _me_ of harm when you trespass on my lands?! Walk amongst my crops like poison incarnate?!”

Wonshik grimaced, wanting nothing more than to advance, to fight, to fight for Jaehwan but that wouldn’t be the way to get Demeter to listen. Better to let her temper burn out before trying to reason with her. Better for everyone involved.

He watched, quite _literally_ rooted to the spot now as Jaehwan was set on his feet at his mother's side. Stumbling slightly in his unfamiliar sandals. Wonshik's heart gave a painful tug.

“Sister,” Wonshik tried again, succeeding in dislodging the stalks around one of his arms. Demeter wasn’t listening to him, barely even seemed to see him anymore, entirely focused on Jaehwan. “Sister, I was going to ask for your audience tomorrow-”

“You disobeyed me! You left the safety of our fields and _now_ look what has happened! The hellspawn monster has gotten his claws on you!” Demeter shouted, anger billowing out of her like scorching waves. There were already red lines ringing Jaehwan’s wrists from the ivy, but Demeter didn’t seem to care, so consumed with rage that it was like she couldn’t see that Jaehwan was whole and unharmed.

“Mother, calm down, please, you’re hurting Wonshik,” Jaehwan pleaded, hands tangling in his sleeves and lip jutting out like he was about to cry. The plants around the two of them were waving madly still but almost half shriveled, responding to both of the nature deities’ emotions simultaneously.

“Go home this instant! Disobedient brat, you won’t leave the house for a century!”

Jaehwan’s pout intensified, Wonshik readying himself to gently intervene, but the little immortals next words threw a wrench in his plans.

“I love him!” he squeaked, looking downright terrified now, because of course Jaehwan had never seen Demeter in a rage. Didn’t know the true breadth of his mother's anger. “I love him, and I want to be with him, please listen-” Jaehwan yelped, hands coming up as his mother struck him across the face. The boy had never been hit before, Wonshik would have bet his immortal life on it.

Alright, well fuck it then.

The dam inside Wonshik shattered, the pulse at his neck quickening as shadows burst from him like ribbons of deepest night. His shroud of darkness settled around him, eyes glowing scarlet and fangs protruding from between his lips. A growl tore itself from somewhere deep in his throat, pure undiluted rage at the sight of the handprint slowly rising red on Jaehwan’s cheek. Any decision to try and reason with this woman had flown from his mind. Face a grim mask of anger at the mistreatment of his friend.

A wave of darkness collided with Demeter, knocking her clean off her feet. Rage burning in Wonshik’s chest. Fury turning his heart to ice. She shrieked, plants bursting from the ground around them and flying at Wonshik, but he banished them with barely more than a thought. Wrapping soft bands of void around Jaehwan and drawing him up, comforted by the feeling of his boy within the shadow’s protection, Wonshik carried him ten feet through the air until Jaehwan was standing behind him.

“How dare you steal my child!” Demeter roared, plants springing up through fresh cracks in the ground. Older plants. Carnivorous plants. Wonshik paid them no attention. He fashioned a spear from the shadows and held the point to Demeter’s throat, thinking of escape now.

Something in Wonshik knew that if he left Jaehwan here alone, he’d never see the boy again. Demeter would make sure of that. And he couldn’t let his new friend go again. Couldn’t go back to a time before loving Jaehwan. A time of darkness and cold, no sunshine to warm his face. No sunshine smile to warm his heart. He’d fight for this boy, whatever the cost.

The staircase would take too long. He’d need his key in hand and it was currently tucked safely beneath his shirt. But his chariot...

“Hold on to me, Jaehwan,” Wonshik murmured, sparing a bit of focus to lash the boy against him with a stream of shadow and snapping his fingers. A chariot of night appeared maybe a pace away, black dogs the size of horses secured to its bridles. They growled and snapped their jaws but Wonshik ignored it. The beasts were entirely under his control, they may go and try to eat Demeter, but they wouldn’t hurt Jaehwan if he was attached to Wonshik at the hip.

Demeter screaming bloody murder and thrashing around in her shadow bonds, Wonshik sent the chariot flying through the meadow as the land around them _died._

Jaehwan’s fingers knotted in the fabric of Wonshik’s cloak, his mother's cries dying away as the world fell into shadow and stars. Wonshik could feel the little immortal shaking. Shuddering as they entered The Beneath. He couldn’t all together blame the boy, it was a rather unpleasant way to travel, and after what he’d just witnessed, Wonshik would be more worried if Jaehwan wasn’t upset.

The palace of the underworld came into view and the chariot touched down, the dark inside him rolling and boiling. Burning through him like a wildfire and stripping him from the inside out. He indulged in his power so rarely these days. His body was growing unused to so much energy in his old age. A lesson for later, he supposed. Didn’t want to get too rusty.

“Jaehwan, are you alright?” Wonshik asked, helping his friend down from the chariot and banishing the horrible seeming from his visage. Keeping a hand around Jaehwan’s middle to support him since the poor thing looked about two seconds from keeling over. The spots where the poison ivy had held him were an angry crimson and Wonshik sent ribbons of shadow winding over them, soothing the redness away.

“She killed her plants, did you see?” Jaehwan asked in a shaky voice, fingers skittering across Wonshik’s forearms and eyes fixed firmly on his own feet. “She _killed_ her crops, the fields just- just withered and died as we left.”

Wonshik gathered him up in a hug. Pressing soft kisses to the roses of Jaehwan’s cheeks. Holding him tight. There was a fresh streak of silver in Jaehwan’s brown hair and Wonshik fixated on it. A strip of the underworld’s teutonic dreariness seeping into the boy like venom.

“Yes, I saw,” Wonshik said, resting his cheek against Jaehwan’s temple, “That was what I was trying to avoid. I told you she was frightful when she’s in a rage.”

Jaehwan looked up, then, that glitter of broken glass now firmly fixed in his chocolate brown gaze. Wonshik’s heart skipped a beat.

“But... but that doesn’t make it alright,” he whispered, “Her first instinct was to hurt you. You’d done _nothing_ wrong and she tried to hurt you.”

“I was doing wrong by simply standing in your presence, sunshine,” Wonshik replied quietly.

Jaehwan shook his head. “No, no you weren't! She wouldn’t even _listen_ to you!” he snapped, pulling away and beginning to pace quickly back and forth across the garden where they stood. Watching him move about was making Wonshik a bit nervous. “Why is me loving you so infuriating? Love should be cherished and celebrated, venerated even! Not looked on with contempt!”

Wonshik crossed his arms. “Don’t you see that this is what I was trying to warn you about? People see me as a poison, a cancer, I never wanted you to be looked at in the same regard.”

“No!” Jaehwan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “You shouldn’t have to change; _we_ shouldn’t have to change simply because the status quo is wrong!”

“Are you sure-“ Wonshik swallowed hard, “Are you sure it is the status quo that is wrong and not your own perception? I _am_ the god of death, after all.”

Jaehwan whipped around to face him, eyes bright with indignation, tiny grey daisies doing their best to sprout up around his feet. “If you were half as monstrous as you thought yourself to be, I wouldn’t love you!”

“But...?”

“But I do! I _do_ love you and you are sweet and kind and perfect in every conceivable way! Just because other people are too blind to see it doesn’t make it untrue!”

Wretched butterflies taking wing in his stomach, Wonshik watched his friend stomp towards him. Hair moving as if in some unseen breeze and chest rising and falling unevenly. Jaehwan went up on tip toe and fisted the front of Wonshik’s shirt, planting a kiss on his lips. Claiming Wonshik’s mouth with all the sweetness of spring.

“You color everything I do,” he sighed, resting his forehead against Wonshik’s once the kiss was broken. “I won’t stop loving you simply because my mother does not approve.”

Thumb gently tracing the curve of Jaehwan’s wrist, Wonshik pulled the boy against him. Basking in that sunlit warmth that seemed to seep from Jaehwan’s every pore. “What can I give you in return for this most precious gift?” Wonshik asked, nuzzling the boy’s cheek in hopes of coaxing a laugh from him.

“You.”

“You already have me, little immortal-”

“No,” Jaehwan interrupted, the first sign of wariness in his eyes Wonshik had ever seen there. “I want more from you, more of you, I-,” he stopped, swallowed, began fiddling with the hem of Wonshik’s cloak, “I had dreams about being with you. That's what you can give me, if you’ll have me, of course.”

Wonshik felt himself stiffen slightly, tried to relax before Jaehwan noticed. “Of course, I’ll have you. I couldn’t think of another being in all the realms that I’d rather spend eternity with.”

Jaehwan shook his head, a quick burst of movement, back and forth and back and forth. “Not like that. I want to _be _with you.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. _Oh.”_

Wonshik cleared his throat, vision swimming with the dreams that had been plaguing him since he’d consulted the fates.

“I want you to call me your dark prince and take me to bed.”

“Jaehwan, if you’re only doing this to get back at Demeter-”

“No! Leave her out of this! I am sick of being told what I can and cannot do, sick of being treated like a child. I want you, so let me want you! This is just between the two of us and no one else!” Jaehwan replied, voice growing firmer with each word he spoke.

Wonshik stared down at his friend, slightly baffled. Jaehwan was still a far cry from the boy in his vision. A few streaks in his hair and being upset didn’t make him any less lovely. That lily beauty, pure perfection in his emerald trousers and cream-colored tunic. Miles from anything that could be called a _dark prince._ But he could- maybe, if Jaehwan wanted him too...

“Alright, easy,” he hummed, stroking the hair off Jaehwan’s forehead. “Would you like me to take you to bed or do you want to do it right here in the garden where all the shades can see, my sweet dark prince?”

Jaehwan squeaked, trying to pull the lord of darkness backward towards the palace entrance and kiss him at the same time. He didn’t succeed very well at either endeavor but Wonshik grinned all the same. Beamed, even. Despite the circumstances, he didn’t think he’d ever been happier in his entire life.

They tripped through the entry hall and up the central staircase, through his palace of glittering glass and down the hall to Wonshik’s private quarters. He waved off all the shades that tried to approach him but one, instructing that something sweet be brought to his rooms in an hour or two. Jaehwan would probably enjoy that.

Hands touched Wonshik’s face and sparks seemed to leap from those fingers, Wonshik’s skin tingling pleasantly where Jaehwan caressed him. “I like your room, darling,” Jaehwan hummed, peering around at the dimly lit room of mahogany and black velvet.

Wonshik arched a brow.

“I called you darling in my dream, it suits you,” he clarified, letting out a peel of shrieky laughter as Wonshik swept him off his feet. “And you’ll be my king. My husband.”

“True, if everything goes as I expect it too,” Wonshik replied, depositing Jaehwan on his bed and just staring for a moment. How had he gotten so lucky? What had he done to deserve having such a joyous and sweet companion? Nothing, as far as he could tell, and yet there Jaehwan was. Perfection incarnate. His ray of sunshine.

“What are you doing! Hurry up!”

“I said I’d take you to bed, I didn’t specify what I’d do once I got you there.”

With a squeak of impatience, Jaehwan yanked Wonshik down onto the mattress and sat on him, pinning the god of death’s hands beside his head. “You know exactly what I want,” he breathed, tilting his head as he blinked down at Wonshik. “I’ve dreamed of it so often; you could just lie there, and I could do it all myself!”

“Go on then, get too it,” Wonshik teased, laughing softly as Jaehwan flushed to the roots of his hair. Abruptly, two slim fingers were pushed into Wonshik’s mouth, Jaehwan undoing the drawstring of his pants with the other. The lord of the underworld almost choked from surprise, but he swirled his tongue around them obligingly. The question in his own eyes meeting the challenge in Jaehwan’s.

“I’m not the innocent everyone thinks me to be, you know,” Jaehwan pouted, pulling his fingers free of Wonshik’s mouth and reaching behind him. “I have a bit of exper... experience.”

Jaehwan’s other hand was pressed flat to Wonshik’s chest, Wonshik’s own hands going to Jaehwan’s hips. Trying to steady him. “I thought you said you’ve never taken anyone to your bed?” Wonshik asked, confused. He honestly didn’t care one way or another, it just seemed like an odd thing for the boy to have been untruthful about.

Jaehwan’s giggle was a bit strangled, but it contained no small amount of humor. “You are aware that I _do_ go to bed with myself, aren't you?”

Wonshik couldn’t stifle his snort of laughter quickly enough. His fingers found their way under Jaehwan’s tunic and he kneaded the soft flesh there, applying just enough pressure that it would relax some of the tension in the muscles at Jaehwan’s abdomen. Then down, massaging the tops of his thighs. The intimacy of the situation wasn’t lost on the king of the dead, but he wanted to keep the stress to a minimum.

With a wave of his hands, Wonshik vanished the clothes obscuring Jaehwan’s form from view. All the blood from his head departing and traveling southward in a heartbeat. Breath catching in his throat. The boy's body was perfect. Soft in all the right places, lithe muscle everywhere else, fit and healthy and just- just _perfect. _

Jaehwan looked down at himself and yelped, nearly toppling off the mattress in his haste to cover himself. Wonshik caught him easily, hoisting him back up and laying him across the bed. Kissing his cheeks, his neck, mouth leaving a scorching trail along his clavicles.

“Not fair,” Jaehwan panted, gasping as Wonshik laved at his nipple, rolling the bud between his teeth. “I want to see you too.”

Wonshik pulled away with a low groan, shifting around until he was off the bed and standing up straight. No magic or hand waving for himself. “Don’t let me stop you from continuing,” he murmured, nodding in the general direction of Jaehwan’s nether regions and slipping the cloak of shadows from around his shoulders.

Wonshik took his time undressing, pausing every now and then to simply watch Jaehwan pry himself open. He was the prettiest picture lying there on the bed, mouth open, skin gleaming with faint sweat. He’d reduced himself to a needy, moaning puddle by the time Wonshik took pity on him and climbed back onto the bed.

“Are you ready, my dark prince?” he asked, a low breathless whine leaving Jaehwan’s mouth as the king of the dead’s hand skated across the swell of his ass. Jaehwan nodded hard, precome already beading at the head of his cock. Stomach muscles tense as bowstrings.

Wonshik let his fingers graze the young immortal’s length and Jaehwan jolted. Kiss swollen cherry lips parted, only an inch from Wonshik’s at most, pupils blown wide and eyes shiny with need. Beautiful.

“How do you want it? Have your dreams given you any hints about how you like it best,” Wonshik added softly, one hand on the small of Jaehwan’s back and the other on his cheek. He could have just laid there, anticipation tugging between them and Jaehwan looking at him like that, for days. Basked in it.

Jaehwan’s fingers skittered across his chest, up along the silver vines tattooed on Wonshik’s skin that the king of the damned had forgotten to warn him about. Tracing the silver tipped thorns. “The dreams seem to think I like it on all fours, but that’s not what I want.” He swallowed hard. “I want to see you.”

“As you wish, little immortal,” Wonshik replied, pressing a single black kiss to Jaehwan’s brow and obligingly rolling him onto his back.

Jaehwan blinked up at him, gaze wide and curious, but spreading his legs so Wonshik could settle between them. Pressing his heels into the mattress and raising his hips. The king of the damned stroked himself a few times, lined himself up, and pushed into that tight ring of muscle with all the gentleness he could manage. The questions in Jaehwan’s eyes died.

He let out a strangled sound somewhere between a yelp and a moan, Wonshik lowering himself down until he was propped up on his elbows. Kissing Jaehwan softly and staying still, trying to soothe away the quiet noises leaking from between his lips. Gods but he was _hot. _The heat of his body almost scalding against Wonshik’s' chilly one. And _tight. _The sensation making Wonshik’s stomach begin to twist.

“Move, please,” Jaehwan breathed, peering at him with sparkly eyes after they’d been like that for almost a full minute. Wonshik’s blackheart thundered inside his rib cage but he _did_ move, pulling back and then slowly thrusting in to the hilt.

Jaehwan choked on nothing, blunt nails digging into Wonshik’s biceps and biting his lip so hard Wonshik worried he might accidentally draw ichor.

Wonshik began building a slow rhythm, easy and gentle, not wanting to overwhelm Jaehwan what these sensations were so new for him. Even so, Wonshik’s bones felt on the point of charring to ash. He’d never been with a person he loved before, never thought there was a possibility of such a thing ever happening, as so he hadn’t been prepared for the waves of emotion crashing over him each time Jaehwan moaned his name. The king of the dead was grinding his teeth so hard he thought they might break.

The hollow dark beneath his skin seemed to fill as the minutes passed, their bodies connected in a rain of embers. A shiver of sparks shooting up his spine as the heat in the pit of his stomach grew and grew and grew. Jaehwan wriggled in his arms, soft sobs racking his body and patches of red dahlia blooming atop the bed as if they lay in a garden. Colors in his realm were more of a suggestion than anything else, but Wonshik thought they looked distinctly red. 

He kissed Jaehwan as he came. Light flaring behind his eyes, brighter than the sun. “So beautiful, my dark prince, the loveliest creature to ever grace this realm or any other,” he whispered. Savoring the moment, a heartbeat longer before pulling out.

They lay together for what could have been hours, nestled beneath Wonshik’s black velvet coverlet, switching between kissing and dozing and exchanging gentle words of love for one another.

A soft knock on his chamber door brought Wonshik’s awareness crashing back to reality. He’d essentially stolen Demeter’s son right from under her very nose. Had his way with the boy, or that’s what they’d call it, because no matter how much it had been Jaehwan’s idea, nobody on Olympus would believe that someone could _actually_ love Wonshik.

The lord of the underworld looked to his left and found that Jaehwan had dozed off again, a small pretty smile turning up the corners of his mouth as he slept. Wonshik was overcome with a desperate need to kiss those lips but he tamped it down, untangling himself from Jaehwan’s long limbs and getting off the bed as quietly as he could.

He pulled a black dressing gown around himself before answering the door.

“My king, the messenger of Zeus awaits you in your study, he claimed the matter was of greatest urgency,” a shade said, voice low and eyes fixed on the floor. They had a tray in their hand, Wonshik’s requested sweets turned out to be a dish fresh fruit, strawberries and sliced pomegranate as well as two tall glasses of nectar. Delectables for later.

He relieved the shade of their tray and set it on the bedside table before padding down the hall to his study, leaving Jaehwan to rest and heal.

“Can I help you with something?” Wonshik asked, forcing a bravado he did not feel as he strode into his study. Hongbin smiled with perfect, white teeth. Knife bright stare as cool as ice.

“Did I not warn you to stay away from Demeter?” He asked, not shouting, quiet. Somehow that was more unnerving. “Did I not tell you to stay away from Hakyeon’s child?”

“You did, and I diligently ignored your warnings,” Wonshik nodded, walking right past the divine messenger and having a seat behind his desk.

Hongbin crossed his arms. “Well, you and Demeter’s son are now requested at Hakyeon’s palace on Olympus. For an _audience.”_

Wonshik shrugged, feigning disinterest. “Tell him I’ll be there as soon as is convenient.”

“No, I am to wait here and escort you both up there myself. And where have you stashed the poor boy anyway? He is a favorite of mine, you know, like a brother to me.”

“Unimportant,” Wonshik replied, matching his friends’ chilly tone. This was much quicker than he’d expected, Demeter was probably up there making a fuss.

“Well hurry up and go collect him, you know how Hakyeon hates to be kept waiting.”

Wonshik sighed and got to his feet as quickly as he’d sat down. Frantic mental calculations swirling in his head. How to best get out of this, how angry his brother could possibly be.

“You may wait here,” he said, breezing back to the study door, images of a sleep soft Jaehwan behind his eyelids every time he blinked. “Have a seat, get comfortable. It may be a while.”


	8. Pollination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been a fun ride, love you all <3

=❃=❃=❃=

=❃=❃=❃=

The god of death swirled through the hallways of his palace, leaving one immortal behind and seeking out another.

He knew Hongbin would stay in his study, snooping probably, for as long as it took Wonshik to ready himself. Even if it took years. But Wonshik had been counting on having a bit more time to plan. Time to form his argument and lines of defense. To portray his and Jaehwan’s relationship in the best light he could.

That would be an impossibility now.

A shade opened his bedchamber door and Wonshik strode inside, heart stuttering at the sight before him. 

Jaehwan, sprawled naked across the foot of his bed with a corner of the black velvet coverlet draped around his hips and lower back. He’d discovered the tray of sweets, one glass of nectar already half empty and plucking seeds from a slice of pomegranate with long, dainty fingers.

“Where did you go, darling?” he asked, smiling a smile of pure warmth. His vitality seemed to radiate from him, warm skin glowing and eyes shining with mirth.

Wonshik shut the door behind him and approached the bed, whisking the tray out of Jaehwan’s reach and setting it back on the bedside table. He downed the other glass of nectar in three large gulps. Needing to fortify himself for the inevitable.

He felt hands on his back, moving up his spine, curling around his shoulders. “We have been summoned to Olympus,” Wonshik said quietly, turning his head and finding Jaehwan peering at him over his shoulder. Big brown eyes as earnest as ever. The king of the dead finished off the other glass of nectar for good measure. This was going to be _unpleasant._

Wonshik turned fully around, palms finding Jaehwan’s waist, mind already forming a plan.

“What did you eat just now, little immortal?” he asked, trying not to derive pleasure from the way Jaehwan was petting his cheeks.

Jaehwan frowned. “Just a few pomegranate seeds...”

“How many?”

“Six?” Jaehwan replied, like he wasn’t sure. But he _needed_ to be sure because when they were in Hakyeon’s presence, the boy would be unable to lie.

“Only six?” Wonshik clarified, Waiting for Jaehwan to nod. “Alright, then keep that fact fixed firmly in your mind.”

“Why does it matter what I’ve eaten? I love you and I’ll tell Hakyeon so, I’m sure he’ll understand-“

“He will _not,_ little immortal. Nobody will understand,” Wonshik replied, dropping the empty glass with a clatter. Jaehwan’s hands stilled. “If you’re so sure, then what are we going to do? Because I will not leave you, I will _not.”_

Wonshik sighed, a sigh of all-encompassing weariness that made his ancient skeleton rattle. He knew what he had to do, had known it somewhere in the back of his mind since the first time his little immortal had kissed him. 

“I will play the villain now,” he said, catching Jaehwan’s hands and squeezing them tight. “But you are going to have to trust me and go along with it or I may never see you again.”

Jaehwan opened his mouth to protest but Wonshik silenced him with a look. “If my brother thinks you want to be with me, he’ll ignore everything else. He’ll grow jealous and seek to hide you behind his own walls rather than in the fields of Demeter. If it’s _me_ that wants _you,_ that’s another matter. Then it will be seen as mere licentiousness on my part. And _that_ he’ll be able to understand.”

“But-”

“No buts.”

_“Yes_ buts! I don’t want everyone to think you’re the bad guy! It’s as much my decision as it is yours!” Jaehwan exclaimed, hiding his face in the crook of Wonshik’s neck.

The god of death smiled softly. If he was lucky, which he usually wasn’t, he’d get six months with his little immortal. Hakyeon enjoyed patterns like that, six pomegranate seeds, six months of the year. And the ridiculous superstition about eating the food in his realm would only work in his favor. Wonshik had made that up himself actually. The food in the underworld was perfectly safe to consume but the belief that it would trap you in hell for all eternity was a very effective deterrent against pesky mortal intruders. Even the gods believed it.

“I already am that bad guy little immortal, best to make them believe it”

Jaehwan was pouting, his full lips pushed out as he flicked his now silver fringe from his eyes. “You’ll _never_ be the bad guy to me.”

Wonshik smiled. He couldn’t help it. This sweet creature just made his heart sing. “How about we give them a show, my dark prince? Give those vapid morons something to _really_ gossip about?” he hummed, chuckling when Jaehwan leaned in and kissed him fiercely.

Jaehwan pressed his forehead to Wonshik’s, fingers slipping inside the god of death's dressing gown and grinning. “Sounds like fun, darling. Armor up.”

Wonshik nodded and stepped back, closing his eyes. Picturing the Jaehwan from his visions.

The circlet of metallic thorns atop his head...

The smudged kohl rimming his liquid brown eyes...

The cloak of shadows that undulated as he moved, embroidered with a pattern of night-blooming flowers...

The black leather boots encasing his normally bare feet...

The silver-tipped fingernails that so easily broke Wonshik’s skin...

When the god of death opened his eyes, the vision stood before him. His love eternal, shrouded in shadow, looking every inch the dark prince he claimed to be.

Jaehwan smiled again, that broken glass smile, running one nail down the side of Wonshik’s neck. “Better get dressed, darling, unless you want to go to Olympus in your dressing gown.”

=❃=❃=❃=

Hongbin was leading, the little party's official escort as they entered the throne room in Hakyeon’s palace. The great palace of Zeus, a creme marble monstrosity that always put Wonshik in mind of a mausoleum.

They were all there. Hakyeon, seated on his throne and wreathed in gold, Demeter, standing at the foot of the dais and looking downright furious, even Taekwoon had been drawn from his undersea castle for the festivities.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd of other assorted immortals gathered to either side, but Wonshik didn’t care. Jaehwan walked at his side, hand in hand. It was time to act now, and Wonshik easily slipped into the arrogance and irreverence that everyone would expect from him.

“Brother, I told you to look but not touch! How many times do I have to say it?!”

Hakyeon's thunderous proclamations were accompanied by a symphony of thunder, sprigs of lighting curling around his golden laurel.

Wonshik raised his hands, palm up. A small, wicked smile gracing his face. “In my defense, brother, _he_ came up to _me.”_

(and the rest is history)

**Author's Note:**

> COMMENTS AND KUDOS ARE LOVED <3
> 
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